


By your side

by BabblingBumblingBandOfGallaghers



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Drug Use, Let me know if I should add anything !, M/M, Mickey and Angie friendship, Slurs, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 18:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3219776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabblingBumblingBandOfGallaghers/pseuds/BabblingBumblingBandOfGallaghers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Everybody fucks Angie' but nobody fucks with Angie. Unless they want an angry Milkovich to show them the meaning of 'Fuck-u-up', of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By your side

**Author's Note:**

> TW for attempted rape/attempted sexual assault, slurs, violence, blood and drug use.  
> Feel free to ask me to add trigger warnings if I've forgotten any.
> 
> The first scene is the one depicting attempted rape. If that is triggering to you or if it makes you uncomfortable, you can skip to the first separation line!

Angela Zago was thirteen when she met her guardian angel. She was going home after watching four-year-old twins whose parents were out, two blocks down from her place. It was pitch black, a little after midnight, and she was walking as fast as she could to get back to her house. She knew most of the lampposts weren’t working so she’d taken a flashlight. Not a good idea. It drew the attention of old jerks to her like fucking moths to a light.

“Almost there, almost there,” she whispered to herself as she heard a man shout at her. “Ignore him Angie, fucking walk, don’t look.”

She sped up, going as fast as she could without running. The man called out at her again and Angie closed her eyes for a second, “Keep walking, you’re almost there, just a few minutes.”

She heard the man come closer and her breathing hitched. “Fuck it,” she whispered to her self before she started sprinting as fast as she could.

“Come here you fucking bitch!” the man shouted behind her. He started running, and caught up with her in a few seconds. He grabbed her arm and dragged her in the nearest alley, hidden between two houses. He pinned her against the wall and took a firm grip on her chin, forcing her to look at him in the eye.

He bent over, his alcohol breath making Angie dizzy. “You don’t run away when I call you, sweetheart, you hear me?” he said with a honeyed voice. He tightened his grip on her chin when she didn’t answer, “You hear me?”

Angie nodded quickly. She couldn’t let out a sound. She’d tried screaming when he grabbed her, but she was petrified to the point where even breathing demanded a huge effort. The man smiled scarily and kissed her forehead. “That a girl. You’re gonna be good now, aren’t ya?”Angie didn’t answer. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe anymore. She just looked at him wide-eyed, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Now, now sweetheart, don’t you worry,” he murmured with his hoarse voice, letting go of her chin and stroking her hips. “Uncle Johnny’s gonna take care of you now.”

Angie shut her eyes tightly and let out a scared whimper. She tried screaming, but there was barely any air left in her lungs. The man – Johnny – started unzipping her jeans when she heard footsteps and a loud laugh.

“I fuckin’ swear Mick, I was this close to kissing her!” Teenagers. Boys. They had to see her, please, _please_ God let them see her. The footsteps got closer and they turned in the alley. Two boys. A bat.

“Sure man, whatever you- what the fuck?” The footsteps stopped, and so did the laughing. Angie opened her mouth, trying to speak, trying to ask for help. When she saw both of them darting forward, she knew she didn’t need to say a word.

The oldest, Iggy Milkovich, grabbed her attacker by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall. The smaller one, Mickey, swung his bat on his kneecaps. Angie squeezed her eyes shut at the crack followed by a loud scream and slid against the wall.

She wrapped her arms around her folded legs and rocked herself back and forward, sobbing lowly. The beating lasted a few minutes, Iggy giving hard kicks, Mickey swinging his bat. When the sound of pounding and thrashing stopped, Angie glanced up. Her aggressor was a whimpering mess on the ground, and the Milkovich brothers were towering him menacingly, catching their breath. After a moment, Mickey looked at her. He walked to her slowly and crouched down in front of her. He was doing all he could to appear the least threatening possible, which was quite hard when he had a bat in his hand, covered in the blood of a man he’d just beaten up. They locked eyes and Mickey gave her a small reassuring smile.

“Here,” he said, holding out the bloodied bat. “Take it.”

Angie frowned, unsure. She alternated between looking at Mickey and at the bat for a moment then nodded, taking a deep breath. When she grabbed the bat, Mickey didn’t let go. He stood up, pulling the bat, and pulling Angie up with it. He made sure not to touch her, not even a graze, and kept his hold on the bat until he was sure Angie could stand on her own. He then smiled at her and let go, and nodded towards the man on the floor.

“Beat the shit out of him.”

She stared at him wide-eyed. “What?” she croaked, her throat dry and tears still in her eyes.

“Make him regret touching you,” he said. “Make sure he never even thinks about doing it ever again.”

“Only if you want to,” Iggy added. He was still standing above the man. “We can do it for you if you want.”

Angie shook her head. She took a few hesitant steps towards him and raised the bat above her head. She stayed like that, immobile, for a few seconds then let the bat down slowly. “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

Iggy nodded next to her. “That’s okay, I’ll take care of it. Mick, make sure she gets home safe.”

Mickey was already at the end of the alley, looking up and down the street, using Angie’s flashlight to see more clearly.

“Nobody here Angie, we’re good to go.”

She gave a last look at the man on the floor and fought the tears forming in her eyes. She was okay. They came for her. She spat on her aggressor’s face and turned to Iggy, handing him the bat.

“Nah, you guys keep it,” he said and waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine.”

So Angie walked out the alley, a bat covered in blood in hand and a twelve-year-old Mickey Milkovich by her side, the sound of his brother pinning her half conscious attacker against the wall in the background, and she’d never felt safer.

* * *

 

Angie turned left at the next intersection. She kept walking straight for a minute and looked over her shoulder. He was still there. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” she muttered. She got her phone out of her pocket, scrolled down to ‘Mickey Mouse’ in her contacts and pressed ‘call’. When he didn’t pick up in the first five seconds, Angie huffed in annoyance. When ten others passed, she started panicking. “Come on Mick...”

“Yeah?” he said in a grumpy voice, clearly just waking up.

“Hey babe!” Angie said with a loud voice, hoping the guy behind her would hear. “I’m a block down from your house, come get me?”

“The fuck Zago, I’m fucking sleeping,” he mumbled.

“Mickey get your ass down here right now,” she murmured in the phone, “There’s an asshole cruising me, he keeps following me around. It’s freaking me out.”

“Shit,” Mickey said, his voice much clearer. “I’ll be there in a sec, don’t hang up.” Angie heard him shuffling in his room, pulling clothes on as fast as he could. She kept babbling, throwing out ‘babe’ and ‘Mickey’ at every other sentence. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the guy was much closer now.

“Shit. Mick, move.”

“I’m coming Ange, just keep walking towards my place,” he answered. “And scream if he touches you.” His breathing got deeper and faster, so she guessed he was finally out of the house and running. Not fast enough though, because her stalker now had a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey there.”

Angie shrugged his hand off her shoulder and kept walking, not even looking at him.

“I said ‘Hey there’”, the asshole said, grabbing her shoulder and making her stop.

“Let go the fuck of me, you jerk!”

He raised an eyebrow at her and snickered. “Who the fuck do you thing you are? You should be happy a guy like me wants to shag you, you fat fucking bitch!” he spat at her.

“Go fuck yourself.”

That’s when the punch came. Angie fell to the ground and held her cheek, tears forming in her eyes. “Angie? What the fuck is going on?” she heard coming out of her phone. She didn’t have time to answer with anything but a pained scream, because the guy was now holding her by her hair and pulling her off the ground. He gave her a second hit and threw her back down.

“You fucking disgust me,” he hissed at her. He turned around and was about to leave when a bat swung across his face. He fell to the ground with a scream and looked up at his assailant. “Milkovich?” he asked, surprise on his face.

“It’s easy to hit a girl, huh?” Mickey said, kicking him in the stomach. “You find it fucking funny, Davis?” he asked, now kicking him in the chin, sending a tooth flying. Mickey crouched down and grabbed him by the collar. He head-butted him and got back up, leaving him on the ground. “You don’t hit women. Ever. You hear me?” Davis nodded jerkily, hurting everywhere. “Good, now get the fuck outta here before I bust your fucking kneecaps.”

Mickey waited for him to leave before he turned to Angie, who was sitting on the sidewalk, hands pressed against her cheek.

“You okay?” he asked, coming to sit next to her. When she nodded, he took her hand off her cheek. “How bad?”

“It’s fine, he only threw a couple punches. I’m good.”

“Sorry I didn’t get here earlier.”

“That’s okay,” she said, “should’ve called earlier.”

Mickey shrugged and got out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, holding one out for Angie. She chuckled lightly, shaking her head at Mickey. “Okay, I am kinda mad at you for not coming earlier if you stopped to take a pack,” she said with a smile.

“Fuck off I’m not a jerk, they were already in there,” he defended himself, clearly insulted. “You want one or not?”

“Sure,” she said, taking the smoke he was offering. “And beer.”

Mickey got up and held his hand out for her. “Empty house, you wanna come play Halo and get wasted?”

Angie smiled and took his hand in answer, then walked up the street with him to the Milkovich house.

* * *

 

“Hey Ange,” Mickey said, breaking the silence. “I gotta tell you something.”

They were lying in Angie’s bed, his feet on one side, hers on the other, and their heads just next to each other, looking at the dents ceiling. They were sharing a joint and trying to forget about all of the shit going on in their respective lives. Angie rolled on her side, facing Mickey.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been banging someone,” he started. “For a while.”

“Yeah? That chick you been telling me about, right? Before Juvie.”

“Yeah.” He thought of how he could phrase this, his best-kept secret. And then he thought ‘Fuck it’ and just went for it. “But not a chick.”

Angie raised an eyebrow and looked at Mickey, eyes open wide. She propped her head up on her hand and kept her eyes on him until he looked back.

“You mean a dude?”

“No I mean a fucking dog,” he sighed, “Yes Ange, I’ve been fucking a dude.”

“Oh.” She lied back down and stared at the ceiling for a while. “Okay.”

This time it was Mickey’s turn to get up and look at her wide-eyed. “Okay? I just told you I take it up the ass and all you’re giving me is ‘okay’? The fuck Angie?”

“See you didn’t tell me you take it up the ass. Now I want to know who gives it. You can give me tips too, cause that always hurts like a bitch for me,” she said with a smile.

Mickey sat cross-legged in her bed and stared at her, unsure. They’d been hanging out for almost six years now, and he still had a hard time reading her sometimes. And right now, he felt like she was seriously fucking with him.

“Ange, I’m fucking gay.”

It was the first time he said it out loud, and he didn’t feel one bit relieved. He was freaking out. Angela was the one person he could talk to, the one person with who he trusted himself enough to spill out his secrets. But this was fucking terrifying. She didn’t answer, but she sat up in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tucked her face in the crook of his neck.

“Thank you for telling me Mick,” she said after a moment, “I’m proud of you.” She giggled lightly and added, “I mean, I’m scared shitless of what could happen to you if Terry finds out, but I’m really fucking proud of you.”

Mickey let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and wrapped his arms around Angie, resting his head on her shoulder.

“It’s Gallagher,” he whispered. Better let it all out, now that he’d started.

“Gallagher? There were two of them in front of my house with you earlier, right?” she asked, still holding him tightly.

“Yeah. The ginger one.”

“Oh fuck he’s hot,” she sighed. “You been getting some of that for a year and a half? Damn Milkovich.”

Mickey chuckled, a smile spreading his face. “Yeah, he’s fucking great.”

“He’s lucky to have you too, you know?” she said with a nudge in Mickey’s ribs. Mickey rolled his eyes and didn’t answer, so she insisted. “I’m serious asshole. You may be a dick sometimes, but you’re a good guy. He’s lucky to have you.”

Mickey didn’t answer but he smiled in her shoulder, and that was enough.

* * *

 

“What the fuck happened to you?”

“Terry. Let me in.”

When Mickey asked if he could come over, Angela expected to see him show up with beer and a few joints, not blood on his face and a black eye. She stepped aside and closed the door behind him. She went to her kitchen, grabbed a pack of frozen peas and followed Mickey upstairs. He’d just gotten to her room, he lied in her bed and flinched, clutching onto his side.

“Fucking asshole,” he muttered between gritted teeth. “Should’ve fucking killed me and get it over with.”

“Don’t say that,” she said, sitting next to him and handing over the iced pack. “Here, put that on your eye.”

She watched him closely as he did what she said, worrying more and more. They stayed silent for a while until Mickey finally sighed and looked at her.

“He found me and Ian. Ass and dicks out on the couch.”

“Shit. Is he okay?” she asked. It may seem shitty – her friend was Mickey, not Ian – but she knew Mickey would be destroyed if Ian got hurt because of him.

“He’ll be fine in a few days, I guess. I got Terry off him fast enough.”

Angie studied Mickey’s face for a while; something wasn’t right. Mickey had been beat unconscious by his dad countless times before, but he’d never looked so destroyed. He was used to it, he suffered in silence, sucked it up and did whatever his father said the next day. This time he just looked… wrecked. Mentally even more so than physically. So Angie lied down next to him and took his hand.

“What happened Mick?” she asked softly.

He shut his eyes tightly, and a tear rolled down his face. He didn’t move or speak for a minute, evening out his breathing, trying to take control over his body. He was shaking so hard that he almost let go of the pack of frozen peas. Angie took it from him and placed it on her nightstand. Then she wrapped her arm around Mickey’s waist, pulling him tight against her, and held his hand with her free one. She squeezed it hard and whispered gently in his ear, “It’s okay now babe, you’re safe. I’ve got you.”

So Mickey exploded in tears.

* * *

 

“Hello?”

“I found him.”

Angie put down the cup of coffee she’d been drinking and sat up straight. “Ian? Where is he?”

“In my bed. He’s sleeping,” Mickey answered. He sounded exhausted; Angie knew he hadn’t been sleeping right for the past few months, ever since Terry found him with Ian, even more so when Ian left. But now he was back.

“Are you okay?”

“I guess.” He breathed out loudly, exhaling the smoke of his cigarette, “He’s working at a fucking gay club. Dancing for old jerks with wrinkled balls.” He took another puff, “Think he was headin’ out to fuck one, too.”

“You beat him up real good?”

“What’d you think?”

Angie chuckled at that. “That’s what I thought.” She paused, waiting for Mickey to say something, but he stayed silent. “You want me to come over?”

“Nah, wife’s here.”

“Having her baby soon, yeah?”

“Too soon,” Mickey sighed. Too fucking soon.

“Kay, well you come over whenever you want, alright?”

“Alright. Hey wait, you still with that guy, Greg?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. It was Jeffrey, but he was close enough. He had way too much shit going on for her to be pissed about that.

“He good to ya?”

“Yeah. He’s perfect.”

“Ain’t no man out there who’s perfect, Ange. Call me if you need me to fuck him up.”

“Okay superman,” she laughed. He would probably be this protective of her until the day he died. “Bye Mick, take care.”

“Bye.”

* * *

 

Ian handed Mickey his phone, eyes locked on the tv.

“Yeah?” he answered, staying focused on the movie he was watching with his boyfriend.

“Mick, can I come over?”

Mickey glanced up at the clock and sat up straight. 11:30pm. “What the fuck is going on? Did Jeffrey do something? I swear to God I’ll beat his head off his fucking neck!” Ian shot him a worried look and worded “Angie?” with his lips.

“Whoa slow down tiger, can I come or not?”

“Of course you can, do you need me to come pick you up?”

“No, I’m on your front porch actually.”

Mickey hung up and went straight to the door. His best friend threw herself on him as soon as he opened it. He locked his arms around her and asked again,

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

When she let go of him, she took a step back and started squealing, jumping up and down and wiggling her hand in front of him. “Look!” she told him happily.

“What?”

“My ring you idiot! I’m getting married!”

Mickey just stared at her, completely bewildered. Ian walked up to the front door and took Angie in his arms, holding her tightly.

“Congratulations Angela! It’s about time,” he smiled at her.

“Thank you Ian.” She turned to Mickey and gently slapped his shoulder. “Thank God you have Ian, you’d think me getting married is a bad thing, judging from your reaction.”

“Excuse me?” Mickey spluttered, “Two minutes ago I thought I was gonna have to kill the guy and dump his body in a river! Give me a fucking minute to register what the hell is going on before you get all high and mighty on me!”

Angie just smiled and hugged him again, much gentler this time. Mickey hugged her back and sighed, “Congrats Ange,” he said, “I’m really happy for you.” They stayed in the entryway for a few minutes, holding each other silently, before Mickey added, “I’m really fucking proud of you Ange.”

“I know. I’m really proud of you too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed ! You can find me on tumblr at the same name - babblingbumblingbandofgallaghers ! 
> 
> Lots of love xx


End file.
